Windy City
by kidderkat
Summary: In which Mercedes goes to college and tries to balance school, friendship, and a long distance ? relationship. These aren't my characters and not places that I made up. I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

It was her first day on the campus of Columbia College in Chicago. She stood back and gazed at all of the banners, signs, and announcements that adorned the South Michigan building. She developed a tiny amount of anxiety, but that dissipated when she felt the cool breeze on her face. She reminded herself of what her best friend told her: _You are Mercedes Jones. You are going to do great things. _She took a deep breath, smiled, and started toward the building, tugging her mother's hand slightly. The bittersweet smile on Mrs. Jones' face stopped Mercedes in her tracks. Mrs. Jones was more unprepared for college than her daughter was.

"Momma, I'll be fine." As soon as the words escaped her lips, she was unsure of whom she was trying to convince. "I know, sweet pea. It's just…" Mrs. Jones took a deep sigh and gave her daughter an adoring look. She brushed her hair with her hand and said, "I'll be okay." Mercedes smiled back at her mother. She wrapped her arms around her and successfully held back the tears she fought since this morning. "I love you, Momma. Let's go inside and check out some of the clubs before we flood the streets with tears." Mrs. Jones' knew her daughter could always make her laugh. She released Mercedes from her embrace and they walked arm in arm into the building.

A couple of hours after perusing every organization Columbia had to offer, Mercedes and her mother left the building with bags full of pamphlets and other goodies. Mercedes thought about the wonderful people that she met at the booths for the Black Student Union and the Columbia Urban Music Association. The BSU group was extremely friendly and seemed excited to have a freshman member, since it sometimes took students a semester or two to get warmed up and start choosing organizations. She was a little intimidated by CUMA, particularly when they brought up the YouTube video. _Fucking Sam,_ she thought as she smiled, remembering his pep talk when he showed her the video. _You ain't no skim milk, baby. _The thought of his voice made her smile ear to ear. She really missed Sam, so she made a mental note to call him that night.

"Alright, sweet pea. I got to get going," Mrs. Jones said with tear-filled eyes. The sight of her mother crying and the thought of not seeing Sam until Christmas break was too much for Mercedes. She threw her arms around her mother and the crocodile tears streamed down her face, dripping onto her mother's shoulder. "I love you, Momma!" "I'm going to miss you too, sweet pea. Go on now, before you make me take you back home."

"Mrs. Jones, you'll be back up here this weekend," Mercedes replied. Mrs. Jones knew that sass well. She rolled her eyes playfully and pointed to University Center, Mercedes' new home for the next nine months.

The ladies laughed infectiously in unison. "Yes, ma'am," Mercedes responded. Mrs. Jones loved that she had such a respectful and mature daughter. She kissed Mercedes on the cheek and promised that her Dad would be with her this weekend with the rest of her things. "Enjoy yourself. Explore the campus, make some friends, and contact your professors." She waved to Mercedes and headed to the car. As she watched her mother drive away, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was a text from her best friend and future roommate, Tina. ***R u there yet nerd? Lol* **

Tina had been picking on Mercedes for weeks because of her decision to move in a full week before classes started. She giggled and text back: ***ha freaking ha yes I am. Nerd? Didn't u take summer classes? *** As soon as she hit the Send button, she remembered the mental note she made earlier. On her way to her half decorated dorm, she got another text from Tina: ***w/e! I'll see u Thurs 3*** She loved Tina and couldn't wait to see her. But for now, her mind was on Sam.

She closed the dorm room door behind her and made the call. "_Why am I so nervous?" _she thought. With each ring, the amount of butterflies in her stomach tripled. Then, she heard a strange voice on the other end. "_This is James Earl Jones. Leave Sam a message or be forced to join the Dark Side." _That voicemail message tickled her every time. "Sam, you are such a freaking nerd. Anyway, I'm about to get settled in so give me a call when you can. And why are you being so secretive about what you're doing this fall? I'm going to need you to answer that when you call. Bye!" She blew a kiss into the phone before she hung it up. She plugged her headphones into her phone and listened to Whitney Houston while she cleaned. After belting along to "All The Man That I Need," she sat her phone down and it rang almost immediately. She let "Summer Nights" play for a little while before she answered it. "Hello, Samuel." He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Hey, Ms. Pretty. How are you liking your new place?"

"It's… fine. Tina will be here in three days and once she gets situated it'll be AMAZING."

"Oh, that's right. You two went shopping for _décor _together. How fancy!"

Mercedes laughed, "Shut up, Sam!"

"I love hearing your laugh, Mercy. I was thinking… I want to write you a letter or maybe send you a care package, but I don't know your dorm number."

She rolled her eyes, "You dork. It's room 417. Do you need the address, too?"

"Nope! I got it. Gotta run, babe!"

"Okay?" _Why was he being weird? _"Love you!"

"Love you too, Mercedes." _–click-_

She sighed, "He's so weird sometimes." She stared at the prom picture of the on her desk and set her phone down next to it. She hadn't seen Sam in three days and was already starting to experience symptoms of withdrawal. She went back to playing music on her phone sans headphones and continued to put away her things. After noticing that she was thirsty and out of water, she stopped the music on her phone and checked the time on the home screen. 2:43 a.m. "Damn! Where did the time go?" She shook her head and left the room to seek refreshment. _I think I saw a pop machine down stairs._ She grabbed some change from her purse, propped her dorm door open with her shower flip-flop, and went to the elevator. It was a smooth ride all the way down. In the short amount of time it took her to reach her destination, she remembered her senior prom. She and Sam rode the elevator up to the hotel penthouse that, her fellow TroubleTones diva, Sugar's dad rented for the post-prom party. She remembered how everything about Sam Evans ignited everything about her: the smell of Cool Water and Irish Spring as she stood next to him, the feel of the suit's fabric on her cheek, how gorgeous he looked in his grey suit, his deep and sultry voice, and how she couldn't fight the rush she felt when she tasted his lips.

She snapped back to reality at the ding of the elevator doors opening. It was still pretty well lit in the lobby for being almost 3:00 a.m. There were a few students sitting on couches and chairs talking. She was taken aback when one of the students said hello to her. She turned and waved with a very polite "Hello" in response. She went to the pop machines and located the one that sold Aquafina. She dug in her pocket for her money and as she approached it she heard footsteps behind her. Mercedes froze up immediately. "It's uh… you don't need any money. All of the soda machines are free here." She turned to look at the kind person that helped her out. He was tall, caramel skin, grey eyes and stunning. "Hi. I'm Mark." He extended a hand to Mercedes and she nervously shook it. She couldn't believe that, not 5 minutes ago, she couldn't get Sam off her mind and now she was ogling this beautiful creature. "I'm M-Mercedes."

"Mercedes Inferno! I knew I recognized you from somewhere! I loved that performance. You were amazing."

She laughed out loud. "You can thank Sam for that."

He smiled while confusion spread across his face. "Who's Sam?"

She smiled, held her head down, and blushed. "He's my boyfriend."

Mark chuckled and said, "Well if he's got a gorgeous woman like you smiling like that, he must be special."

Mercedes smiled respectfully. "He is. I got to get going. I left my room door propped open."

"Oh! Okay, no problem! It was nice to meet you. I'll see you around."

"Take care," she replied as she walked away. She went to the elevator and pushed the up button. It took almost 5 minutes for the next elevator to show up. She was beginning to grow impatient, partly because of the mysterious way Sam acted before he got off the phone. _Was he planning to write me a letter breaking up with me? _Mercedes' brain had an odd way of working in the wee hours of the night. Even though she knew Sam loved her, her insecurities sometimes had a way of creeping up to the surface and fabricating lies. She shook her long black hair to rid herself of bad thoughts and got on the elevator.

On the way up, she found herself humming "Disco Inferno." As soon as she realized what she was singing, she started giggling and decided to text Sam when she got back to her room. He would probably be up playing Star Wars: The Old Republic anyways. As soon as she got off the elevator, her "Spidey-sense" told her something was amiss. She approached her dorm room with great caution, as she had seen too many scary movies. The light was on in the room. Mercedes was always raised to turn the light off when you leave a room. Mr. Jones was sure to always remind her. She heard the shuffling of papers and a man's voice coming from inside the room. _Who the hell is that? _She repositioned her water bottle so that she held it by the top, ready to attack whoever was in her living room. She crept up to the door and leaned in to peek through the small opening. Suddenly, the door opened and a figure stepped out in front of her. Mercedes and the figure shrieked for a second until they realized they knew each other.

"Tina! What the hell?"

Tina threw her arms around her friend. "Sorry! I meant to tell you. Mike and I decided to come early too! He wants to meet the dancers and he has an audition tomorrow any, so… here we are!"

Mercedes was excited beyond belief. Tina was one of her best friends in high school, but over the summer, Mercedes would consult with Tina about relationship matters and they grew closer. The girls stepped into the room and closed the door. "Cedes!" Mike stood up and gave her a hug. Mercedes loved having her friends there. After gabbing for a half hour about Mercedes' eventful day, she and Mike followed Tina into her room to help her unpack most of her things.

"Whew!" Tina exclaimed. "Well, that's one less thing to worry about. Thanks for helping, MJ. But seriously, you could've sat on the bed and painted your nails and I wouldn't have thought twice about it."

Putting her hand out on display, Mercedes joking sassed back, "Um, this is a FA-RESH manicure. I know you're not saying my nails look at mess." The trio laughed and yawned, while simultaneously checking the nearest time-telling device (Mike watch, Tina's phone, and Mercedes' alarm clock) before realizing how late it was. "Holy shit, I'm tired! We gotta go, babe. I think there's a hotel ope-"

"Wait, what?" Mercedes was confused.

Tina continued, "Well, we thought about it earlier, and we don't want to make you uncomfortable with us staying here so we were just going to get a hotel room."

Mercedes chuckled. "Make me uncomfortable? Child, please. You two can stay here. Why would I mind? This is OUR dorm, Tee. Plus it's not like we're in the same room, let alone the same bed. Plus, why would you pay a hundred dollars for a room to do the hanky-panky in when you have a room here?" Tina blushed as Mike put his arm around her. "If Mercedes says it's okay, I think she means it. Plus, I'm way too tired. It's after 5 a.m. and we really need to get some sleep. I've got that audition and I want to make sure I at least get a nap in before I go." Hesitant in doing so, Tina agreed with Mike. They all joined in for a group hug and went to their respective rooms.

Not ten minutes later, Mercedes heard the faint sounds of a very satisfied woman. _Sound proof walls, my ass_, she thought. It oddly made her think of Sam and the last night they spent together before she left for Columbia. He told her that he didn't want to do anything and opted to just lie in his bed instead. She remembered how disappointed her libido was, but the fact that he just wanted to talk to her made her heart smile. She loved their talks. He was a lot smarter that he led on in school and she wished people could have seen that side of Sam. She decided that she would make him a video. She double-checked her remaining makeup, smudging or removing until it looked decent. She opened her laptop, started the necessary software, and began recording:

"Hi. Um… I'm up late and I'm sure you are too. I would call, but I figured you would like a video better. I miss you so much and I don't want to wait until Christmas. *sigh* So, here's a little present for you. I hope you like it."

She sang the first verse and the chorus of "Human Nature," one of their shared favorite songs. "Oh my god, that did NOT sound good *laugh* See? Everything is better with you in it. I miss you so much and I love you Sam. Goodnight." She blew a kiss into the camera before stopping the recording. After she emailed the video to him, she turned off her desk lamp, crawled into bed and stared at the picture on her desk. She could feel the warm tears pooling in her eyes. She missed him so much it hurt. She wanted to see him and more importantly know that he was okay. She continued to cry until her body decided that it needed rest.

Six hours later, she climbed out of bed and stretched until her body felt limber enough to walk. She opened the door to her room and saw Tina in the kitchen making a pot of tea. "Morning, MJ!"

"Morning, Tee. Where's Mike? Oh, the audition?"

"Yeah. He's been gone for about an hour now. Do you need some tea?

"Ooh, yes please." Mercedes headed toward the pantry to grab the honey and sugar. She only drank hot tea if it tasted like her momma's. With that thought, she began to feel homesick. Before she could concoct her drink, she heard "Summer Nights" playing from her room. Dropping everything she had in her hand on the counter, she ran to her room and answered the phone.

"Hey, you!"

"Hey you, yourself. What were you doing up so late?"

Mercedes told him all about last night. Sam wasn't particularly fond of the Mark part, but he didn't feel any twinge of jealousy.

"So guess what I'm doing right now?"

Mercedes didn't care for guessing games. She was happy to hear his voice, save the suspicious grunts he was making, so she played along. "Um… do I want to know?"

Sam laughed, "You probably don't but I'm going to tell you anyway. Kind of."

"Kind of? What the fu-" Mercedes stood there in shock after the call had dropped. Tina walked into Mercedes' room. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Sam is just playing the guessing game again. But he hung up on me. Maybe he lost service." With that thought, Mercedes called him again. It went Straight to voicemail. Mercedes was furious, sad, and puzzled. The girls jumped at the sound of the lock being turned in the living room.

"I gave Mike my key just in case we were still asleep when he got back."

Mercedes nodded in response. The girls walked to the living room and Tina threw her arms around Mike.

"Guess what I found wandering around the hallway," Mike said with a smile. And as if that was a cue, a tall figure walked into the room, green eyes blazing with excitement and fixed on Mercedes as soon as they found her, wind-blown blond hair, and a smile that could light up Las Vegas.

She couldn't believe it.

He was here.

_This_ was his surprise.

"SAM!"


	2. Chapter 2

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKKKKKK! Thank you all for the unexpected good reviews! I'm a little slow at updating (this is the quickest I have out of this and the other story I posted), so please be patient. I'll try to update as often as I can. Thank you so much for the feedback! I'm surprisingly excited about this chapter. I hope you all like it!**

* * *

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The site of the woman who captured his heart sent sparks throughout his body. He reminded himself to breathe as he rested his belongings on the floor. He waited with delight for his love as she sprinted across the room and leapt into his arms. He spun her around a few times and planted a passionate peck on her beautiful plump lips. No matter how many times they've kissed, she still was never fully prepared for the rush she got when their lips met. With Mercedes still in his arms, he asked, "How are you, Ms. Pretty?"

She giggled like a schoolgirl as she replied, "Much better now."

They kissed once more before he set her on the ground. "How did this happen?" She turned to Tina. "Did you know about this?"

Tina, smiling from ear to ear, said "Yeah right! Mike says I can hold water about as well as a bottom-less bucket." She playfully nudged her boyfriend with her elbow.

"Are you saying that you can, Miss Gives-Christmas-presents-a-week-before?" Mike started tickling Tina. She gave him a kiss on the cheek proceeded by a quick tickle on his stomach and her dashing off to the bedroom. Mike chased after her and closed the door behind him.

"Seriously, Sam. When did the planning for this happen? Is this why you were being so secretive?"

He gave Mercedes a large smile. "Um… as soon as you told me you got accepted and yes. I wanted to surprise you!" His smile started fading when he didn't receive any reciprocity from her. "Are you upset? I didn't mean to-"

"No, Sam. I just can't believe you're _here_. I'm happy and confused and… I don't know. It doesn't matter. I'm just…. I don't know!" She threw her arms around Sam and squeezed. He missed her warm, loving hugs. She let go of him and asked, "So what dorm are you staying in?"

"Actually, Mike and I got an apartment off campus, so we're… uh… we'll be roommates."

"Perfect! My roommate's boyfriend and my boyfriend are going to be living together. This is going to be awesome!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "I guess. This means you know where I live and I won't be able to bring all the millions of honeys over that want my body." He raised up his shirt a little to display the bottom portion of his ripped abs.

"'Honeys', Sam? Really? Yeah. Using a phrase from the nineties will CERTAINLY get you laid." She giggled and shook her head and she started for her room.

"Oh and sarcasm will, Ms. Jones?" he asked.

She turned around agave him her best "Come hither" face. "Oh, Mr. Evans. I'm _quite _certain that it will." She turned back around and continued her trek to her room. Sam immediately caught the bait she was casting and rushed to catch up to her and closed the door behind them.

An hour and a shower later, Sam and Mercedes emerged from her room, faces glowing full of bliss and fingers intertwined. Mike and Tina, who were now sitting on the couch, looked at the couple with jokingly-judging eyes. Tina broke her stance to comment on her friends' faces. "Aww, you nerds are so cute together!" Sam and Mercedes rolled their eyes in unison.

"Whatever, Tina," Mercedes replied with a laugh.

Mike stood up and stretched. "Alright, dude. We got to get going and get you settled in. You ready?"

"Yeah." Sam looked as if someone ripped the cloud he was floating on from underneath him. He looked down and touched his forehead to hers. "I've got to go to Kentucky to get my dad's old truck at some point. He's going to let me use it while I'm up here. Do you want to come with me? Stevie and Stacy are bugging the hell out of me about you."

Mercedes chuckled, "Oh yeah? Well the next time you talk to them, tell them I miss'em." She suddenly remembered what he mentioned prior to the info on his siblings. "Did you even need to ask if I'll go with you? I want to see my babies! When are you going?"

"Haven't quite worked that out yet. But I'll let you know."

"Okay. Go get settled in. I'll see you la-"

"Actually," Tina interrupted. "I was thinking about going to help Mike get some stuff for his room at Target. If you want to spend some more time with Sam, we can drop you both off at the apartment. I'm sure Sam wouldn't mind the _company_."

Mercedes' face lit up. Tina knew how much she missed Sam and she loved that Tina found ways for them to spend more time together. Mercedes was especially thankful for it now that her and Sam didn't have vehicles with them. "Let me get some shoes! Two minutes!" Mercedes rushed off to her room to find some footwear while Sam gathered up his things. Mercedes opted for sparkly purple flats to wear with her ruffled purple shirt and dark jeans. She grabbed her purse, cell phone and keys and hurried into the living area. "Okay, I'm ready." The quartet left the dorm and headed downstairs.

They exited the elevator on the first floor and Mark spotted Mercedes and waved. She waved a friendly wave and motioned for him to come over. "That's Mark."

"Oh." Worry came through Sam's voice in those two letters, though he was determined to hide it. Even Sam couldn't deny Mark was a good-looking man. He shook any creeping negative thoughts from his head and put on a friendly face.

"Mark, this is my boyfriend Sam. Sam, this is Mark."

"Hey, man how are ya?" Mark proffered his hand which Sam respectfully shook.

"Not too bad." _Keep it short and sweet, _Sam thought.

"Awesome. Ooh, what kind of axe you got in there?" Mark pointed to the guitar case Sam was carrying.

"Oh, just some old thing my grandpa had. Passed it down to my dad and he passed it down to me."

"Nice. You any good?"

Mercedes interjected, "He's AMAZING. He composed an acoustic version of 'Human Nature' that will blow. You. Away."

"Huh." Mark was intrigued. "Well, we have sort of an open mic night on campus on the weekends. You're going to have to show us what you got some time."

"Will do. Nice meeting you, Mark."

"You too, man. Take care."

Sam nodded in response and with his free hand, grabbed Mercedes'. The group headed to the car and after Sam loaded all of his belongs in the trunk, they were on their way to the boys' apartment.

Since it was really close to campus, the interior wasn't that much different from Mercedes and Tina's dorm: a community living area and kitchen with two bedrooms and bathrooms on either side. Mike and Sam's apartment was, of course, much bigger than the girls' dorm. Mike gave everyone a quick tour, ending it at Sam's room, void of… anything. Mercedes slightly frowned under the assumption that he didn't have any furniture because of the struggle his family endured during his tenure at McKinley High. Being the caretaker that she was, she started mentally shopping for inexpensive furniture that would at least allow him to have a comfortable, livable room. Sam could see the worry on Mercedes' face and knew exactly what she was thinking.

He turned to her and stroked her hair. "Don't worry, baby. I got some money saved up from working over the summer. I'll get some stuff soon. Plus I brought an airbed with me. For… _you know_."

Mercedes looked confused. "No, Sam. I don't _know._" Sam laughed at her response. "You'll find out later, then." He winked and walked into the room.

Mike and Tina headed to Target while Sam and Mercedes set up the airbed. When they were finished, Mercedes asked, "So…. What now?"

"I have another surprise for you." Sam got up from the bed and grabbed his guitar case. He pulled out the instrument while Mercedes waited patiently. He began to strum and the guitar let out a less than pleasant sound. Mercedes scrunched her face and smiled. Sam, whose cheeks were now flushed red with embarrassment, nervously apologized and began tuning the guitar. Meanwhile, Mercedes perused the Ikea app on her phone, searching for inexpensive bedroom furniture for Sam. After about 15 minutes, Sam cleared his throat to get her attention.

"I didn't tell you this, and it's not a big deal, but I learned a new song over the summer."

Mercedes' face was full of delight. She loved hearing him play almost as much as she loved him. She clapped her hands at the news and listened attentively.

"I just want to say.." He sighed. He didn't like bringing up the past, but he still wasn't over the actions that transpired when Shane, Mercedes' ex, was still in the picture.

"Look, I'm sorry."

Mercedes was perplexed by the apology. "Sorry for what, hon?"

Sam continued. "I'm sorry for the way I acted when it came to Shane. I shouldn't have-"

Mercedes interrupted, "Baby, it's okay. My heart wasn't in that relationship. It was always with you. And I'm glad you fought for me."

Sam laughed lightly. "I'm not sorry about fighting for you. I'm sorry for the way I did it. It should've gone something like this."

He began strumming a beautiful melody on the guitar and hummed along with it. Mercedes knew the song and her eyes instantly began to tear up.

Sam sang:

_When I look into your eyes  
It's like watching the night sky  
Or a beautiful sunrise  
There's so much they hold  
And just like them old stars  
I see that you've come so far  
To be right where you are  
How old is your soul?_

He played for a little bit longer, trying to keep his composure. He closed his eyes and continued singing:

_Well, I won't give up on us  
Even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love  
I'm still looking up_

And when you're needing your space  
To do some navigating  
I'll be here patiently waiting  
To see what you find

_'Cause even the stars they burn  
Some even fall to the earth  
We've got a lot to learn  
God knows we're worth it  
No, I won't give up_

Mercedes held her head down and began sobbing audibly. Sam set his guitar on the bed and hurried by her side. "Why are you crying, sweetie?" He enveloped her in his arms and gently rocked her.

She stopped crying just enough to manage telling him her reason for being emotional.

"Sam, that was beautiful. But… it kind of… upsets me."

Sam was hurt. If he had to pinpoint his mission in life, it was to never hurt Mercedes Jones. "W-why? What did I do?" He could feel the tears streaming down his cheek. Mercedes looked at Sam, gave him a half smile and wiped the tear from his cheek.

"It's not anything _you_ did. I just… I don't want you to ever feel bad about anything that either of us said or did. When you came back, I… I don't know. I listened to my head, which was telling me to do what was 'right.'" She made bunny-ears and paused before continuing. "I should've listened to my heart. Ever since that summer, before you… left," She placed her right hand over her heart. "Every time my heart beats, I hear your name. I love you, Sam."

"I love you, too, Mercedes. I just want to take away all the bad." He looked frustrated, so she leaned over and kissed him fervently.

"Sam, if we didn't have the bad, we probably wouldn't be here."

He smiled back at her. He loved how she always knew the right things to say. Ms. Pretty was wise well beyond her years. Sam tried his best to fight his yawn, but to no avail. Mercedes pouted her plump bottom lip while Sam laughed. "Let's take a nap."

Sam raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. "Liiiiiiiiiiiike, a _nap_ nap or…"

Mercedes laughed and lightly nudged him. "No, Sam. Like sleep. You're tired and I think all of today's excitement may have worn me out as well."

"Shucks!" Sam hooked his arm and punched his fist to the left in disappointment. Mercedes smiled and rolled her eyes at him. "Do you have a blanket and pillows?" Sam cocked his head to the left while he tried to remember if he packed any bedding. When he discovered that he didn't, he gave a very disappointed head shake.

"Are you cold?"

Mercedes shrugged and nodded.

Sam stood up and stretched, simultaneously showing off his muscles on purposes. "Well, Miss Jones. Lucky for you, I'm hot."

Mercedes shook her head. "And with that, you can have several seats."

Mercedes crawled on the surprisingly sturdy (and comfortable) airbed and Sam laid down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her, kissed her neck and said, "I'll keep you warm." Mercedes snuggled back a little bit until she was comfortably right up against Sam, and the couple was soon fast asleep.

A few hours later, the couple awoke from their slumber by the sound of hammering coming from the living area. "What the heeeeeeeeeell?" Sam grunted. He stumbled off the airbed and went to the front room. Mike and Tina were putting together was Sam saw as a headboard.

"Shit, I didn't know you were in there. I..I'm sorry, dude." Mike showed wore his apology on his face. Sam was pretty easy going and he knew Mike wasn't an asshole. "It's cool. Do you need some help?"

Tina jumped up at the opportunity to let someone with more upper body strength than her help out. "All yours!" Tina sprinted off to Mike's room to watch TV. Sam kneeled down to help fasten the headboard pieces together and finally took a second to look around the room at all the new furniture. He laughed and said, "Dude, what the hell do you need 2 mattresses for?"

Mike smiled and said, "I don't know. Ask Mercedes." That statement removed all of the emotion from Sam's face and for a second, he looked upset. "What do you mean?"

As if on cue, Mercedes entered the living area and stood behind Sam with her hands on his shoulders. "I was planning on buying you something else, but then I saw your room. And I thought…"

Sam stood up and turned around, looking concerned. And lost. "How the hell did you manage that, Mercedes Raychelle?" Mercedes knew that when Sam used her middle name, a trick he picked up from her mother, she knew she was in hot water. Luckily, her sparkling smile and pinch-worthy cheeks made it easy to get out of trouble with him. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before she smartly told him, "There's an app for that."

Mike helped Sam move his new furniture into his room while Mercedes hugged and silently thanked Tina for helping her get the furniture. When the boys were finished, Mike ran to Tina and scooped her up in his arms. He turned around and said, "We're going to get dinner started. You two, uh…"

Tina cut in, "Have fun!" Mike shut the door behind them as Sam walked over to Mercedes.

She started to smile, but saw that she was still in trouble. He pursed his lips and folded his arms. She knew she'd better explain her purchase. "My parents gave me a prepaid debit card. I kept it in my room so I wouldn't use it on junk. When Tina texted and told me they were going to Ikea, I asked her to go grab it and I sent her the item numbers from the app." She sighed heavily and continued. "Sam, I… I'm sorry."

He grabbed and hugged Mercedes. How could he be mad at her? "Thank you, baby. It's.." He looked around the fully furnished room, "REALLY nice."

Mercedes smiled. "I'm glad you like it. I meant to ask, what's your schedule look like? Do you know what classes you're taking?"

Sam was suddenly nervous about her questions. "Mercedes, I-"

She began sifting through the things he brought with him that they unpacked earlier.

She huffed after not being able to find what she was looking for. "Sam, you don't have any pencils, pens, paper, nothing. How the hell are you going to take notes?"

"Mercedes, please list-"

"Oh, I'm stupid. You've got your laptop." She continued looking through his things before he walked over to her and spun her around.

"Mercedes, please listen to me."

She looked concerned, but nodded her head in agreement.

"Mercedes…"

"Sam….?"

"I don't know how to say this but…"

"Sam what's going on?"

"I'm not…" He gulped, preparing himself for any disappointment. He sighed deeply before revealing the news.

"I'm not… going to school."


End file.
